Vehicle



C. P. LANDES. VEHICLE. APPUcATmN .FILED ma. 19.1918.

Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I u ww c'. P. LANDES.

VEHICLE. AAPPLlc/muu FILED FEB. 19. 191s.

` Patented Jan. 25, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 ffl/372665:

UNIT-ED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

CHARLES P; LANDES, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

VEHICLE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented JalL 25, 1921 Application led February 19, 1918. YSerial No. 218,043.

ments and combinations of its parts byl which the vehicle may be adapted to either freight or passenger service.

lt is especially important in vehicles of the kind under' consideration that accom- -inodations be provided for the maximum number oftroops, andV that the operation of loading and unloading should be accomplished in the speediest manner possible. is `also desirable that conversion of the vehicle from passenger to freight service, or

vice-versa, should be readily and simply f effected, and that when cpnverted to one use, the characteristics which adapt it for the other use should entirely disappear.

lli/lith these ends in view, I have devised a vehicle which embodies certain new and improved features by which the Yoperations of conversion are greatly facilitated, and by which the vehicle may accommodate .either passengersV or freight without any substantial increase in the number of its component parts. These andother objects of my invention will more fully hereinafter appear from the detailed description to follow, and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side eleva-tion of a vehicle embodying they features of my invention, showing its conversion for passenger use;

Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe vehicle, the forward parts which have no direct relation to my invention being omitted from the seats resented as three in number.

For the purpose of clearly illustrating my invention, i. have shown in Fig. 1 an automobile truck having a chassis lO suitably `mounted on wheels l1, and supporting a body on which is a drivers seat 12 in convenient proximity to the controls. Rearlwaruly offthis seat is a wall'13 extending transversely across the vehicle, a tail gate 14 seing also mounted at the extreme'rear end of the body. Secured along the edges of the body are sides 15, either closed or slatted as may be desired, and preferably removable or swingingly mounted so as to not interfere with the loading or unloading ope ations The seats Vassigned for passengers are arranged longitudinally of the vehicle in a `manner somewhat similar to that shown and described inniy pending application. Serial No. 178,153, filed July 2, 1917, and are rep- Since in all essential respect-s theyare alilre l have designa-ted each seat bythe numeral 16'. ln the construction shown, these seats rare supported in elevated position above the level of the body platform 17 by means of novel supports, each consisting of a channel iron 18 pivoted as at 19 within a bearing member 20 which is shown as mounted on one of the transverse beams 21 of the chassis, although its mounting on the body directly is optional; anda second channel iron 22 of shorter length pivoted at one end as at 23 to the support 18 intermediate its ends, the other end of the iron 22 being pivoted as at 24 to a bearing member 25 secured to the under side of the seat 16. When the seats are fully elevated the iron 22 will fold between the flanges of the channel iron 18,as best shown in Figs. 3 and 5, a. locking pin 26 attached to a chain 27 being inserted through registering openings in these two irons to prevent swinging movement of one with respect to the other. It will be understood that as many vertical supports are provided for the seats as may be required to sustain the .load which they are designed to carry, the drawings showing, for convenience, two such supports. Additional end supports may also be used, such as are provided by an angle iron 28, secured to the rear side of the forward wall 13and another angle iron 29 carried upon the tail gate 14. As appears best in F igB this tail gate is hinged as at 30 so as to be capable of swinging downwardly when required, a locking device 31 being employed to hold the tailgate against such movement when the seats are elevated.

From the foregoing description, the operations of raising and lowering the seats should be clear. To lower the seats the tail gatey is first dropped permitting each seat 'to move rearwardly a sufficient distance to clear the angle iron 2S; the locking pins 26 are then Withdrawn to permit the irons 18 Vto swing backward and the irons 22 to swing forward until the seats have beeny fully lowered to the level of the platform 17 where they may liev within suitable recesses 32 therein inV iush relation with the platform. Obviously theraising of the seats may be accomplished by a reversal of the operations described. i

In the construction shown and described, the character of the vehicle is entirely transformed Ywhenever the seats are raised or lowered in the one instance accommoda- 7 tions for passengers being' provided, and in I claim:

1.,A vehicle having a body platform, a transverse wall near the forward end and a tail gate movably arranged atits rear end, means for locking the tail gate in upright position, a longitudinal seat extending between the wall and tail gate, supports Xedly secured to thewall and tail gate for sustaining the seat ends, and a swinging support intermediate the seat ends pivotally secured to the body and the seat, the seat support'operating to'lower the seat when the tail gate has been moved from normal position, substantially as described.

2. A vehicle of the kind described having in combination Varchassis and a platform withY longitudinal slots thereinV above the chassis, seat-s arranged `above the platform andv having supporting means therefor adapted to permit the seats to lower into the platform slots, said supporting means consisting in each instance `of two elements of unequal length, one pivoted to the chassis Aand the other to the seat,the shorter element being pivoted to the other at a ypoint intermediately of the ends thereof, and a locking connection betweenV the elements removed from their point of pivotal connection, substantially as described. Y CHARLES l?. LANDES.

Witness Y EPHRAIM BANNING.- 

